LRTH - 11

That night, Fang Nanzhi was filled with regret after returning home.

Why did she nod her head back then!

He wasn’t scary... not scary at all.

She was just a little nervous. It was all Xu Yuanhao’s fault for saying those things.

Perhaps it was because she had nodded that day, but in the following two weeks of doing homework at Li Yizhou’s house, Fang Nanzhi noticed that he was a bit gentler with Xu Yuanhao and the others.

This made her feel a little embarrassed. She really didn’t mean to say that he was scary when he was teaching.

“Liaoliao, how do you use this treadmill? Come and teach Mom.”

It was Saturday again, and Zhao Liyun had been fiddling with something in the room downstairs for a while, and she called for Fang Nanzhi.

To support her daughter’s exercise, Zhao Liyun wanted to set up a small gym at home. The first things she bought were a treadmill and a yoga mat.

Fang Nanzhi had already studied the machine when it arrived today, and she had been running for a long time. She had just finished and was about to take a shower.

Hearing Zhao Liyun call her, she turned back.

“First, press here, then these plus and minus buttons can adjust the speed, and this button adjusts the incline...”

Zhao Liyun listened humbly for a while, memorizing it. She turned to look at her daughter, whose face was flushed after exercising. “Liaoliao, did you run for a long time? You should also be moderate with your exercise and not get too tired.”

Fang Nanzhi smiled shyly. “I know. I’m running according to what the fitness coach in the video says.”

“That’s good. After all, studying is still the most important thing right now. We shouldn’t be too strict on ourselves just to become pretty.”

Fang Nanzhi was stunned, her face flushed with heat. She said softly, “No, it’s not... it’s not to become pretty.”

Zhao Liyun, who could tell what a girl of this age was thinking, didn’t expose her when she saw her so eager to deny it. She said, “Yes, yes, yes, it’s for your health. You’re indeed more energetic now that you’ve lost some weight.”

Fang Nanzhi was still a little awkward. “I’ll go take a shower now...”

“Wait, don’t shower immediately after exercising.”

“I’ll be late. I have to rush to do my homework later.”

As usual, she had to go to Li Yizhou’s house with Xu Tingyou and the others in the afternoon. She didn’t want to be late, so she hurriedly ran back to her room to take a shower.

When she was changing her clothes, she noticed that the pants her mom had bought her were a little too big around the waist. However, these were a loose-fitting style, so it didn’t matter much to wear a belt.

After changing, she met up with the Xu siblings, and they went together.

The routine today was the same as usual. She would do her homework first, and Li Yizhou would tutor Xu Tingyou and Xu Yuanhao. After that, he would come out and answer her questions.

Perhaps the homework was easier today, as she didn’t get many questions wrong. After Li Yizhou briefly taught her, he let her go do homework with the other two.

“Oh my god, is this a problem a person is supposed to solve? Hey, Fang Nanzhi, let me take a look.” After a while, Xu Yuanhao couldn’t take it anymore and leaned his head over.

Although they weren’t in the same class, they had the same math teacher, and this week’s homework was the same. Fang Nanzhi covered her test paper and said in a low voice, “No, you can’t copy. Figure it out yourself.”

Xu Yuanhao: “Why are you calling it copying? I’m just borrowing ideas, you know?”

“...Isn’t that the same thing?”

Xu Yuanhao choked. “Of course not! I just want to see your approach. Let me see. I’ll treat you to bubble tea later.”

Fang Nanzhi, who was on a diet: “I don’t drink bubble tea.”

Xu Yuanhao clicked his tongue. “Hey, you’re no fun.”

“What’s ‘fun’?” a deep voice suddenly said from the doorway. “Come on, tell me about it.”

Xu Yuanhao’s hair stood on end, and he quickly recoiled. “Ah... I, I was just kidding, Brother Yizhou. I was just joking with her.”

Li Yizhou casually picked up Fang Nanzhi’s homework and said, “Come out and write with me.”

Xu Yuanhao: “Ah... I already said I was just joking. You don’t have to be so wary of me. I won’t copy.”

“You’re still bothering her.”

Xu Yuanhao: “...”

In the end, Fang Nanzhi followed Li Yizhou out. He had her write her homework at the same work desk as before.

The desk was very long, and he sat at the other end, working on a computer.

Fang Nanzhi wasn’t far away and could see him drawing something on the computer screen. There were many lines, and it looked very complex.

Fang Nanzhi didn’t say anything to disturb him and just focused on her own work.

Half an hour later, she had finished all her homework, and Li Yizhou was still working on his own things.

She sat in her spot, not knowing what to do.

When a person is idle, their mind wanders, especially when sitting next to the person they like.

Fang Nanzhi secretly glanced at him a few times and then picked up her pen to sketch on a piece of scratch paper. It was a simple sketch, and soon, the profile of a boy with smooth lines and a focused look appeared on the paper.

She then secretly drew a pair of wings behind him.

“What are you drawing?”

She didn’t know how he had found out, but he suddenly turned to look at her.

Fang Nanzhi was startled and closed her book almost immediately. “Nothing, I’m just doodling!”

Seeing her frightened face, Li Yizhou was both helpless and amused. “I don’t mean to criticize you. You can do other things once your homework is done.”

“Oh... then how did you know I was drawing?”

“The sound.”

That was true... the sound of the pen was quite loud.

But it was a good thing he didn’t see anything.

Fang Nanzhi opened her book, tucked the scratch paper inside, and then, still not feeling secure, she used her pen to scribble over it a few times, making the boy’s face on the paper unidentifiable.

She then looked at Li Yizhou again.

He seemed to have just finished what he was doing. He slightly raised his hand and rotated his wrist, then put it down and let out a light sigh.

“What’s that?” Fang Nanzhi looked at his computer screen and asked curiously, mustering up her courage.

Li Yizhou: “You mean this software?”

“Mhm. Is that the building you were drawing in the art studio?”

Li Yizhou was a little surprised. “You still remember?”

Fang Nanzhi’s ears felt a little warm. She said softly, “Because I thought it was very beautiful back then...”

Li Yizhou smiled. “Thank you.”

He then said, “This is CAD, a design software.”

“Oh... it looks so complicated.”

“It’s not complicated once you learn it.”

Talking about the art studio made Li Yizhou suddenly remember something. “Right, I saw your painting of the Fenglan Activity Center. It’s very beautiful. When did you start learning to paint?”

Fang Nanzhi was stunned. He had actually seen her painting that she had left in the art studio!

She had thought that he had never gone back to the art studio and had forgotten about his promise to “see her painting.”

She didn’t expect him to still remember.

Fang Nanzhi couldn’t help but feel a little happy. She said, “I didn’t learn. I was just interested in it when I was a kid, so I just doodled.”

Li Yizhou had specifically learned art from a teacher before. He hadn’t seen many people who were self-taught, so she was indeed very talented.

“You have a real talent for painting.”

This was the first time Fang Nanzhi had ever heard anyone say she had “talent.” Her eyes lit up a little.

At this moment, the sun was setting in the west, and the light came in through the glass doors, cutting the floor into two sections. He was in the light, and she was in the dark.

She clearly felt the light he was passing to her.

________________________________________

The new week went on as usual. According to Xu Tingyou, Li Yizhou rarely came to school anymore.

Although he wasn’t often at school, there was still a lot of talk about him.

For example, in their class, some girls especially liked to talk about the third-year students, and Xu Yuanhe, Li Yizhou, and others were always in their conversations.

This Friday afternoon, before class, the topic was Li Yizhou.

“...That girl has some nerve. She just stopped him in the hallway. A bunch of people were watching, and she wasn’t even scared. She just confessed to him.”

“Wow, a role model for our generation.”

“What kind of role model? She was rejected completely. Li Yizhou is already pre-admitted and about to leave. Why would a first-year student confess to him? How could he possibly accept? She thinks she’s Song Chuxuan or something.”

“Song Chuxuan isn’t with Li Yizhou, is she?”

“I don’t know about that. I was just using her as an example. To have a chance with Li Yizhou, you have to be on Song Chuxuan’s level, right?”

“Not necessarily. Maybe he doesn’t like that sweet type?”

“Then what type does he like? The rough type like you?”

“Get lost! I didn’t say it was me!”

“Hahahaha—”

A few girls gossiped and laughed. There weren’t many people in the classroom at the moment, so even though their voices weren’t loud, Fang Nanzhi could hear them clearly.

So, a first-year student had confessed to him today and was rejected.

At this moment, she felt a small, secret joy because he had rejected someone else, but she also felt a sense of bitterness because she couldn’t be as brave as those people and confess.

Yes, she wouldn’t have that kind of courage.

For her now, being able to get close to the sun and feel a little of its warmth was already a luxurious thing.

“Fang Nanzhi, want to go shopping tomorrow?” Xu Tingyou came back and chugged a big bottle of water as soon as she sat down.

Fang Nanzhi came back to reality. “Isn’t tomorrow Saturday?”

“Yeah. Brother Yizhou is gone, so we have a day off.”

Fang Nanzhi’s heart felt empty for a moment. “Gone? Where did he go?”

“He said he went to inspect some place with his dad. Anyway, he went abroad. He’ll probably be back next week.”

He would be back.

She suddenly let out a sigh of relief.

But at the same time, she also realized that he would have to leave eventually.

After this semester, she probably wouldn’t get to see him much anymore.

Sadness washed over her, and she lowered her eyes.

Xu Tingyou didn’t notice anything. She was very happy and said, “Finally, we don’t have to go there to do homework. Let’s go out and shop. I haven’t bought anything in a while.”

Fang Nanzhi had been to the malls in Hangzhou a few times with Zhao Liyun, so it wasn’t an unfamiliar place.

But she couldn’t get used to Xu Tingyou’s shopping style at all. Zhao Liyun had grown up with hardships, and while she wasn’t stingy about buying her clothes now that they had money, she would never buy her student daughter luxurious clothes.

Xu Tingyou was different. At her age, going into luxury stores was a common occurrence. Fang Nanzhi followed her and was shocked by the prices.

After shopping for a while, Xu Tingyou swiped her family’s card to buy a pair of shoes, two outfits, and a tiny bag that probably couldn’t even fit a phone.

Each item was four or five digits.

Fang Nanzhi also had a lot of pocket money, but she didn’t buy a single thing.

Seeing that she wasn’t in the mood to buy clothes, Xu Tingyou stopped as well. They went to eat, had dessert, and then went to a bookstore.

Going to the bookstore was Fang Nanzhi’s idea, and Xu Tingyou didn’t say anything, just buried herself in the pile of novels.

Fang Nanzhi picked up a few English review books. After walking around, she couldn’t find the books she wanted, so she went to the front desk to ask an employee.

The employee looked them up and brought a few over to her.

“‘The Great Le Corbusier,’ ‘Modern Architectural Design Cases,’ ‘Understanding Architecture.’ Little girl, are these the three books you’re looking for?”

Fang Nanzhi took them. “Mhm, that’s right.”

“We don’t have any sealed copies of these books in the store.”

Fang Nanzhi quickly said, “That’s okay. I’ll buy them.”

After more than ten minutes, Xu Tingyou brought over a few novels. “Are you done?”

“I’m done.”

“What did you buy?”

Fang Nanzhi: “Study guides...”

Xu Tingyou glanced at what she was holding and was speechless for a moment. “You’re so boring. Why would you buy so many English study guides?”

“...My English isn’t good.”

“Fine, fine. Just wait for me for a bit. We’ll leave after I pay.”

“Okay.”

The English study guides were in her hands, while the three architecture books had already been put in her bag.

Those three were books she had seen at Li Yizhou’s house and secretly memorized.

She was careful not to let Xu Tingyou know that she had bought these books because in their circle, the word “architecture” was almost synonymous with Li Yizhou.

She was afraid of people getting the wrong idea.

A small, unknown secret was best kept quietly in her heart.